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Wednesday, 30 August 2017

(First of all I would like to thank you all for your good wishes and understanding, they were much appreciated!)

I'm a bit early for this one, but I'm at home today and in work on Friday so I thought I'd get a head start!

Welcome to the September or should I say Stashtember Challenge!

This month, we will be digging through our stashes and pulling out those treasures that will help us celebrate the month of September. There are many interesting things listed on Wikipedia as having happened in September. I've pulled out a list below, please choose one topic to base your design on, you can then use any aspect of this topic to inspire your design. I can't wait to see where the inspiration takes you. But remember, all beads should be from stash!

German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding named an asteroid belt after the Roman goddess Juno.

Richard the Lionheart was crowned King of England.

Edvard Grieg, Elizabeth 1, Isambard Kingdom Brunel were born.

The Blackpool Iiluminations were first switched on in 1879.

Star signs Virgo and Libra represent September.

THE PRIZE:

This month our sponsor is Celia and she's offering a £15 voucher to spend in her online shop Jencel!

HOW TO ENTER:

Email a photograph of your entry to Sarah at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for.The challenge runs until Midnight on Saturday the 30th of September and the winner is drawn and announced within 3 days. You can email your entry at any time during the 1 month period. The challenge is open to beaders worldwide.

RULES & OTHER INFORMATION:

Entries must have been started on or after September 1st 2017.

You can make any item, it does not need to be jewellery.

You can use any craft technique but it must include beads.

Your entry must be a finished piece and include a paragraph on your inspiration and how your entry relates to the challenge theme.

If your entry isn't your own design you must credit the original designer.

There is more detailed information on the challenge herebut if you have any questions please leave a comment below or email us.

Thursday, 10 August 2017

Please accept my apologies for the lack of challenge this month. There has been a lot of "Life" happening. Our beloved old dog fell ill and passed away and I'm afraid that, on top of an extremely busy time in work and covering the school holidays for kiddo, has fried my brain and I forgot!

I'll try to be back on to of it still on, in the meantime I hope you have some beady fun!

Monday, 3 July 2017

Apologies for my tardiness this month, I couldn't quite fit everything I needed to do in the last few weeks!

In order to try and catch up, I'm going to take a break from the challenge in July, but will be back with something tricky in August!

Thank you to everyone who joined in and beaded some beautiful pieces, taking us on a lovely trip around the world!.

Fatema

Here is my June blog challenge-A kangaroo (and her joey) keychain.The pattern has been taken from a japanese book "animalia".Sine childhood,I have been fascinated with kangaroos.Kangaroos are endemic to Australia and have been depicted in Australian art,official currency,literature and continue to be used today by sporting teams and fans and advertisers as a symbol of all things Australian.Their amazing hopping ability,the pouch on the bellies of the female kangaroos to cradle their babies called joeys makes them such extraordinary marsupials.I would love to see them if I ever get a chance to visit Australia!

Coral

I picked Sinkiang, China because I had some pendants in my stash (one I did just make a necklace from last month) but they made me curious about the area. The necklace I've made for this challenge has the pendant that represented the Queen of Sinkiang...here is what I learned about the province from Wikipedia..."Sinkiang (or Xinjiang) refers to a former province of the Republic of China. First set up in 1884 as a province of the Qing Dynasty, it was replaced in 1955 by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomus Region of the People's Republic of China. The original provincial government was relocated to Taipei as the Sinkiang Provincial Government Office until its dissolution in 1992.

I made this all from stash some going back to the 1960's...rhinestones, chain and crystals.

Audrey

This is my June challenge entry it's my interpretation of Hindia by Heather Collins. I have always been interested in the Persian Mogul influences on India so I have made this necklace up in the colours that reflect Persian culture but Indian style.

Kristen

At first I thought I'd bead a Huichol Mexican bracelet.

I have long admired the bright colors in traditional Huichol pieces.

But!

I'm part of another FB group who focused this month on Loom pieces.

The group will be working on "Gerdan" or "Split Loom necklaces" for July.

This inspired me so much that I made the necklace over a weekend!

My country of inspiration: Ukraine

Jewelry piece: Gerdan necklace

It can be a few different styles, one commonly found a long strip of loom work.

Friday, 2 June 2017

There are so many wonderful, fascinating countries in this world of ours each with a unique history, intriguing traditions and a sense of beauty of their own. For this challenge I'd like you to take a virtual trip around the Globe, stick a pin on a map or lose a few hours on Google to choose a country that interests you and bead a piece inspired by anything about that country that tickles your fancy! You can find a list of sovereign states on Wikipedia to start you off on your journey.

Please include the name of your chosen country and a short paragraph on your inspiration so that we can all learn a little more about our world.

Email a photograph of your entry to Sarah at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for.The challenge runs until Midnight on Friday the 30th of June and the winner is drawn and announced the following day. You can email your entry at any time during the month. The challenge is open to beaders worldwide.

RULES & OTHER INFORMATION:

Entries must have been started on or after June 1st 2017.

You can make any item, it does not need to be jewellery.

You can use any craft technique but it must include beads.

Your entry must be a finished piece.

If your entry isn't your own design you must credit the original designer.

The photo above is for decorative purposes only, please refer to the text below it for details on the theme or colours allowed.

There is more detailed information on the challenge herebut if you have any questions please leave a comment below or email us.

Thursday, 1 June 2017

Thank you to everyone who joined in with this challenge! I'm thrilled that so many UFOs now have a new lease of life as finished pieces!

Carol H

This is based on Shelley Nybakke's "Until I Breathe"

I haven't beaded for over 12 months so decided to use 5 of the "dangles" I had already done!

Jenny A

Sarah G

The design credits for the base go to Julia Gerlach, and the Absolutely Stunning 'Sign of the Zodiac' cameos are courtesy of Davida Krill and The Old Bicycle Shop....(I HAD wanted to feature every sign of the zodiac on my necklace, but even I (lover of all things over the top) had to concede that doing so would have been EVER SO SLIGHTLY mad! So I went with five.

Fatema I

I dug into my stash and created entry numbers 1,2,3, 4, 5, 7, 8,9 10 11 and 13 which are all my designs!Entry no 12 is a customised hand ornament for a client which is also my own design.Entry no 11,14 and 15 are table mats for which I utilized most of the plastic bicones accumulated over a period of many years.Entry no 6 and 16 are pairs of earrings which I made with the help of guide central video tutorials on you tube.All these projects were beaded during the months of April and May.

Lucy K

Lucy finished this Anais brooch from a pattern by Ellad2 (Ella Des)

Kristen H

Kristen finished 12 pieces to enter for the challenge.

Design credit in 7 picture: (top right)

Heather Kingsley-Heath

Melissa Grakowsky

Melissa Grakowsky (again)

Kelley Weiss

Diane Dennis

Sandra Youbger

Melissa Grakowsky (center)

Design credit in 5 picture (top right)

Erin Simonetti

Jay Dee

Justyna Szlezak

Julia Pretl

Nancy Dale

Maureen L

The centre necklace is Nefertiti's Treasure designed by Melanie de Miguel, a workshop from several years ago.

The outer necklace is Dragon Claw Necklace designed by Laura McCabe, a kit I started last year.

The pendant and earrings are my version from a Bubble Hubble workshop with Melanie de Miguel in March this year, made to go with my outfit for my son's wedding recently.

Vidya

Vidya finished this design from Eridhan creation.

Esther B

This is "Tassel Lariat," a workshop pattern from Helena Tang-Lim. Started in class with her last August, and just finished now! Whew!

Signy C

I completed 7 items for this challenge!

4 beaded bezels on moon cabs (only 30 or so left to go!)

2 pairs of earrings

1 beaded necklace for a pendant

Louise B

All the entries (1 per finished item) went on a list and I used Random.org to pick a number.

The Winner is Kristen H! Congratulations Kristen! Please get in touch and I'll send you your prize!

Saturday, 1 April 2017

Let's dig through our stashes and pull out all those UFOs (unfinished objects) and half done WIPs (works in progress), I know we all have them, and get them done! If you don't have any UFOs or WIPs, you can still enter with the items you have made during this period.

Just one photo per person please, with all your finished items within it, you get one entry per each item finished! Please include the number of items entered in your email.

The Prize:

This prize comes direct from my stash to yours and includes a Lisa Peters Russ cabochon and 40g of my "Lake" custom bead soup.

HOW TO ENTER:

Email a photograph of your entries to Sarah at ottbs@live.com along with any other details we have asked for.The challenge runs until Midnight on Wednesday 31st May 2017 and the winner is drawn and announced the following day. You can email your entry at any time during the 2 months. The challenge is open to beaders worldwide.

RULES & OTHER INFORMATION:

You can use any craft technique but it must include beads.

Your entries must be finished.

If your entry isn't your own design you must credit the original designer.

There is more detailed information on the challenge herebut if you have any questions please leave a comment below or email us.